Joe Micon - Director of LUM Camp for 40 Years
Reflections from Joan Low, LUM Board President
This year will mark Joe Micon’s 40th year at LUM Camp . That’s right, our LUM Camp Director has been at it for four decades! So what keeps a grown man coming back to summer camp for so long? It’s the campers, of course. For these many years Joe has put heart, might, talent, and soul into planning, hiring staff, and leading the most inspiring experiences the campers have ever encountered.

Joe has inspired young imaginations through exciting activities in areas such as biology, engineering, sports, farming, space exploration, math and many more. Campers gain new visions for their future and more tools for realizing those visions. If you ask him, Joe will tell you that his time spent with LUM campers and creating experiences for them has done more to change the world than anything else he has accomplished.

Over Joe’s 40 years at camp he has watched with delight as LUM Campers have grown up, entered college, and gone on to exciting careers .  In our community there are social workers, nurses, and teachers who enthusiastically share fond memories of attending a LUM Camp directed by Joe Micon. One LUM Camper even went on to become an accomplished NFL wide receiver , and another is LUM's current CPA .  

I’m sure you realize that Lafayette Urban Ministry is so much more than a social safety net. It is a ministry with a vision for a community where children, regardless of the circumstances into which they are born, can grow up to be valuable contributors in whatever walk of life they choose. And no single person drives this vision toward realization more forcefully than Executive Director Joe Micon !
 
I hope that this year you will give, not only for our campers, but also in honor of Joe’s 40 years of service to them. Over four decades, Joe has touched the lives of 4,000 at-risk children. I can think of nothing he would appreciate more. I think you can see that LUM Camp is one of the finest overnight summer camp programs available to children anywhere . It will take place during the week of July 29 at beautiful Hanging Rock Camp in Warren County. I know of nearly 100 children waiting anxiously to attend.  Please, won’t you offer them the gift of LUM Camp?
"Gear Up" for LUM Camp 2019 & Sponsor a Camper
This year’s theme is “ Gear up” for LUM Camp ! Campers will learn in exciting ways about careers that will be in high demand when they enter the workforce. Leaders will help them formulate questions that will be important to them in charting their futures :

  • What is advanced manufacturing?
  • What do different kinds of healthcare professionals do?
  • Who develops the apps on mom’s phone and how is it done?
  • What will be the different kinds of construction trades – and can girls do them too?
  • How does the food we eat make it from the farm to our table?

Our campers will meet educators and vocational experts who know the answers to these and countless other questions. They will engage each child’s natural curiosity with creative hands-on activities and projects. Campers will read engaging books about careers during camp, and then be given the books to take home with them.

As you can see, plans for LUM Camp 2019 are a big order. LUM Camp is a week-long, overnight, scholarship-based camp for 8, 9, and 10 year old boys and girls whose parents have received services from LUM in the past year and who are not able to afford the $150 per child cost of camp .  Would you please consider sharing a gift of $150 to give a child this marvelous opportunity? Your campership will pay for a child’s transportation, room and board, camp activities, books, supplies, and all of our career and vocational programs, in other words everything a camper will need to attend this year’s LUM Camp .
 
  • Sending $300 will allow two children to attend LUM Camp
  • Sending $450 will provide three camperships
  • $75 will provide half a campership

LUM Camp is one of the finest overnight summer camp programs available to children anywhere. I know of nearly 100 children waiting anxiously to attend.  Please, won’t you offer them the gift of LUM Camp?
LUM Campfire Stories from Joe Micon
“ LUM Camp provides the tools children need to navigate the challenges of growing up,” Joe Micon says.  “Camp is such a fun and supportive place. Campers make new friends, experience new activities and are exposed to a world of possibility. As the week progresses, you can literally see each child grow in confidence.”
Here are a few stories he recently shared with Joan Low , LUM Board President:

  • One year Joe heard the Olympic torch was passing through Indiana. He moved heaven & earth to arrange for the torch to come to LUM Camp. Each camper got to lift the torch high over their head and feel like a real Olympian!
  • Another year, LUM Camp became Ag Camp, and Joe arranged for tractors, implements, and all manner of farm animals to visit. Each camper got to gaze down from the seat of a giant combine that was as big as a house. Pictured above.
  • The year that LUM Camp focused on aviation and the science of flight, each camper got to fly in an airplane, see their house and school from the air, and experience our community from a fresh new perspective. Somehow, Joe even convinced the LUM Board that flying in a plane was actually safer than driving in a car.
  • One former LUM camper played the snare drum in the President’s Old Guard Fife & Drum Corp after being exposed to the snare at LUM Camp. Joe remembers watching him march & perform on TV during President Bill Clinton’s Inaugural Parade.

Every morning the children are beckoned from their beds by the sights and sounds of the forest and the experience of chapel around a campfire. At chapel they learn love of neighbor and respect for creation. They hear scripture stories about God’s love for them and justice for all his children. After breakfast they have a full day of hiking, riding horses, boating, swimming, entertainment, and art.  LUM Camp is known for its great food , outstanding facilities , experienced staff & counselors , and all the singing , skits , and activities to form fond memories of fun, learning, and challenge.

We hope that this year you will give, not only for our campers, but also in honor of Joe’s 40 years of service to them. Over four decades, Joe has touched the lives of 4,000 at-risk children.  Please, won’t you give a local child the gift of LUM Camp?
Be a LUM Camp Counselor - Make A Difference
Would you, or someone you know, make a good  LUM Camp Counselor ?

LUM Camp is a week-long, over-night camp program for low-income children from 8 to 10 years old. Volunteer camp counselors must be 18 years old, enjoy working with children and be able to spend the entire week at camp. Counselors are needed from 11 a.m. Monday, July 29  to 4 p.m. Friday, August 2. 
Join Joe Micon , LUM Camp director, in his 40th year at camp, and make this the year YOU make a difference in the lives of local children.
Please SHARE with others who may be interested.
Lego Sets Donated to LUM Youth Programs
In Memory of Purdue Professor Charlotte Hyde
Tammy & Michael Conrad-Solvo donated Lego sets to the LUM After School Program for the students to enjoy and from which to learn. This gift was in memory of Purdue Professor Charlotte Hyde, who passed away in April at the age of 44.

Tammy & Michael shared with the students that, "Charlotte was from Texas, came to Indiana to attend Purdue and become a writing professor, and she earned her PhD in 2016. She taught writing, worked with many engineers who liked to built, and loved Legos a lot. She built with Legos as a hobby and used them in her classes to teach Purdue students how to be creative and solve problems." { Pictured above L to R are Kristi Hogue, LUM Youth Programs director, Michael & Tammy.} To view more photos, click HERE .

The LUM Youth Program also received a donation from Linda Greyson of Lego Bionicles, a marble maze & lots of craft supplies. LUM is blessed to have such generous friends.
East End Grill SPECIAL Event Benefits LUM
Unique Dining Experience - Thursday, June 13
East End Grill in downtown Lafayette is hosting a very special, unique Food & Wine Experience , and all of the proceeds go to the LUM Good Samaritan Fund . The event details are as follows:

  • What: Four-course dinner experience with Wine pairings
  • Date & time: Thursday, June 13 at 6 p.m.
  • Location: East End Grill, 1016 Main Street, Lafayette, IN
  • Donation: $100 per person
  • Limited to the first 10 lucky individuals

Scott Trzaskus, owner , and Ambarish Lulay, chef , are hosting the event and will give details on each course and the wine pairings. They shared that, “East End Grill would like the pleasure of hosting you for a four-course dinner experience with wine pairings. The dinner will feature local produce and meats from our purveyors to create an interactive dining experience whereby we introduce you to food and wine the way we enjoy sharing with our guests. The flavors will feature Spanish influences and include seafood and meat dishes that best convey our style of family dining and hospitality. We look forward to cooking for you.”

Make Your Reservation TODAY -- If you & your friends are interested, call, email or stop by the LUM Office (765-423-2691 | lum@lumserve.org | 420 N 4th Street, Lafayette). First come, first served. Limited to ONLY 10 participants.
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